When Life Imitates...Life

Baby and Gypsy are our mascots and constant companions. My husband and I both work from home, him as an artist and me as a writer and somehow, we stumbled upon the perfect mascots.

This is Baby. He's a 4 year old Tabby. He's big, beautiful and strong. He's the most loyal beast I've ever had the pleasure to meet. From the moment we adopted him from a farm family 30 miles away, he was my boy. Well, at first, he was "my girl". He was advertised as a female. He was also advertised as being 8 weeks old. He was neither. He was male and more like 5 weeks. As a result, he never really learned to be a cat, but he's better people than most humans I know. He's sweet, clunky, selectively cuddly and gorgeous, just like my husband, Carl.

Baby only has eyes for me. He tolerates Carl as the "secondary provider of food and treats," but other than that, no new people. He hisses at newcomers, alerting them to the fact that he's on guard, protecting mommy from any and all perceived threats.

Baby is a going concern. Whatever we're doing, he's there, right in the thick of it. If I'm writing, he's either by my side or, if he wants my attention, straddled across my keyboard to send me a message that it's time for belly rubs and chin scratches.

Never mind earning a living, cats have needs, dammit! If Carl's ready to box up a painting, he's usually in the box he wants to break down, claiming it as his personal space with a defiant glare.

He puts the passive and the aggressive in passive aggressive and we love him to bits, even though he's kind of a jerk.

Then there's Gypsy. She's a stunning Bengal - Tabby cross that we rescued from a family with too many people and far too many cats. Carl wanted a kitty that would love and cuddle with him. She fits the bill. Well, when she wants something, she does. This tiny power pack is the feline representation of me, svelte, keenly intelligent, fiercely independent and knows how to work it! She's a beauty and a diva and she knows how to work it!

She was so tiny when I brought her home. We were terrified that Baby would bully her. Turns out that wasn't a problem. I carried her in as Carl looked at her with hearts in his eyes, like a cartoon character and set her down. She looked around, sniffed a few things, and went straight to the food bowl as if to say, "this is good eats, okay, I'll stay here." Baby tried to assert his dominance, briefly, but she boxed his ears but good and swiftly established herself as the Alpha woman of the house.

She's not into everything the way Baby is, her tactics are more subtle, more sophisticated. Whereas Baby is a blunt instrument of distraction, Gypsy is the beguiling seductress, somehow convincing you that you want to stop working to lavish her with love. But make no mistake, she's everywhere. She makes her presence known every second of the work day. If we happen to forget her presence, she'll instigate a battle with her brother, just to entertain and distract us. Or, maybe just to get some treats. And if that doesn't work, she'll go to her litter box and kick some turds out onto the floor. A beautiful girl demands the attention she's due.

Gypsy also loves the T.V. We've tried to keep her away from it, but, she's won that battle. Now we just put on her favourite fish show while we work. It keeps her happy for a while.

Our house is total chaos, me writing, or trying to, Carl painting, or trying to, and 2 cats who want us to earn a living, but not at the expense of their comfort, convenience or every whim. And we wouldn't have it any other way.